vbiscotti: sunday dinner: lemony deliciousness

Following my own advice, I had a laid back weekend--and Sunday was the perfect way to end it. I woke up around 10 and went for my first >1 mile run in ages which felt fantastic.

I had some yogurt and berries by the pool and caught up on an issue of Glamour and my latest book (reading Girls in White Dresses--highly recommend) and did some swimming and relaxing. Mike and I hit the mini golf course & arcade for some afternoon fun--he always beats me.

For dinner, I tapped a tried and true flavor as the base of our meal--lemon. It's so versatile and really infuses chicken when cooked properly--so here's what I came up with..

lemon and thyme stuffed chicken breasts
2 chicken breasts butterflied (slice lengthwise, but not all the way through to halve them) and seasoned with salt, pepper and red pepper flakes inside and outside
6 sprigs of thyme, split and stuffed inside chicken
1 lemon, sliced into half moons and stuffed inside chicken

pre-heat a pan with a 1/2 tablespoon of butter, let it melt
lower heat to low-medium and place chicken breasts in
leave them alone. I can not stress enough that to properly cook chicken, and get a nice color on the outside, you should not touch them until they are ready to be flipped
you will know they are done when you see the sides start to brown/cook-then flip
once flipped, take a spoon and tilt your pan slightly to gather the juices, and baste the chicken throughout the process (every few minutes)
once done-again, you will see the sides start to brown, and on a thick piece of chicken it should be about 7-9 mins/side
once cooked, take out of the pan and let rest

orzo with sauteed squash, corn, sugar snap peas, arugula and tomatoes
1/2 lb of orzo pasta, cooked (reserve a bit of pasta water for your sauce)
1 medium size squash, diced into half moons
corn on the cob, cooked (I did it with butter, salt, pepper and chili powder, left over from the previous nights dinner) and sliced off the cob
about 2 handfuls of sugar snap peas, diced
about 2 handfuls of arugula, chopped
a handful of baby tomatoes, diced
salt and pepper for seasoning

pre-heat a pan with a small amount of butter, and put all veggies except the tomatoes in the pan, season with salt & pepper
once cooked through mix with pasta

lemon cream sauce
3 tablespoons of butter
2 tablespoons of flour
a few splashes of cream or milk
a few splashes of your reserved pasta water
salt & pepper for seasoning
juice of half a lemon

place butter and flour and pre-heated pan
whisk together until you form a thick paste, remove from heat and add the cream or milk-whisk together and put back on low heat, adding your pasta water until you get to a sauce consistency
add your seasonings, remove from heat and add lemon juice

spoon sauce over chicken and pasta, serve and enjoy!